User Reviews

A guy in prison is shot while trying to make a ridiculously impossible escape. It seems he got a gun out of a doctor's bag and tried to shoot his way out! Now the doctor is in trouble because he's accused of trying to facilitate the escape and Cannon's job is to determine if he was involved or not. The case later evolves a bit and becomes a search for missing money which, it turns out, is hidden in valuable coins.

This is a modestly interesting episode of "Cannon" and in some ways reminded me of "The Fugitive". After all, the guy trying to escape might be innocent AND William Conrad (Cannon) was the narrator for this excellent 1960s series. Do yourself a favor and try it...the show is a bit better than "Cannon".

10 Stars.

Speaking of tv villains, add Peter Haskall to the distinguished list. I always thought of him as more of a smooth type, such as Jack Cassidy, who recently appeared on the series. Haskell later was a soap opera regular on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW.

Here, he's the best of worst playing a hotshot lawyer called Barron (in a three piece suit) who is after a missing fortune that cleverly turns out to be European money. A neat bait and switch, for a change of pace.

Credit Stephen Kandell for this adventure, who also cranked out a lot of dynamic stories for MANNIX. At the time he was also writing for MEDICAL CENTER.

Watch carefully; Kandell puts Cannon in a Mannix-type scene, up against a sniper on a rugged hillside.

One question: How did Cannon get to the top of the hill so fast to get the gunman? He made the same mistake with Mannix... Diana Muldaur (as Ava) assists Cannon in the case. Not too long after this episode she appeared opposite John Wayne in the chase film MC Q. Muldaur made tv history, being a member of the STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION series. She co-starred in the RETURN OF FRANK CANNON in 1980, and possibly his next wife?

Russell Johnson (GILLIGAN'S ISLAND) makes another appearance on the show, playing the DA. He was an accomplished dramatic actor for decades, and with a long list of credits. But alas, he will always be fondly remembered as the professor.

This story is interesting in two parts, all beginning with an attempted prison escape and a gun hidden in a doctor's bag. Next, the hunt for the secret stash. The hidden gun idea may actually have been taken from real life headlines at the time, promoting tight security checks for doctors, especially the push for metal detectors. Perry King plays the doctor who is represented by Haskell.

When all is said and done, watching one of our favorite bad guys get his due --without giving too much away --is fun stuff.

Wait for the ending, and it's clever, still a close shave for Cannon.

If you are keeping travel notes, partly filmed at beautiful San Pedro, CA. Keep watch at the very beginning as the limousine cruises through traffic, past all the small cars, such as Volkswagons and Pintos lining the streets due to the gas crunch of the 70s!

The famous HART TO HART house is used again in this episode, reportedly once owned by Dick Powell. It's a magnificent place and I think they also filmed inside. This is a very elaborate episode, with some memorable settings.

SEASON 3 EPISODE 20 remastered color CBS dvd box set. A collectors item. 6 dvds 2012.